# When does the Secret Service stop guarding the candidate who lost?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-the-secret-service-stop-guarding-the-candidate-who-lost/472346>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 12, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-the-secret-service-stop-guarding-the-candidate-who-lost/472346 "2008-11-12T14:47:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-the-secret-service-stop-guarding-the-candidate-who-lost/472346/21 "2008-11-13T02:19:38Z")

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A day or two after the election, Rachel Maddow showed video of McCain driving himself out of the hotel on the morning of Nov. 5, pointedly lacking his SS detail. So I can’t say at what minute or even hour they left him, but they were gone by the morning of the day after the election.

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**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-the-secret-service-stop-guarding-the-candidate-who-lost/472346/22 "2008-11-13T13:50:36Z")

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I assume that someone pretty high up in the Bush administration decided that Obama merited extraordinary protection.

Did Gore receive protection until Scotus chose the president?

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**Author:** ![Lambo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lambo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lambo)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-the-secret-service-stop-guarding-the-candidate-who-lost/472346/23 "2008-11-13T16:04:58Z")

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> [@Hari\_Seldon](#):
>
> I assume that someone pretty high up in the Bush administration decided that Obama merited extraordinary protection.
> 
> Did Gore receive protection until Scotus chose the president?

Well, he was still the Vice-president, so I would guess yes.

And on the topic of McCain specifically: he is also a current Senator, so the SS could have handed any after-election security stuff to the Capitol Police, I assume (not saying they did, although I assume the SS briefed Capitol Police on any threats).

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**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-the-secret-service-stop-guarding-the-candidate-who-lost/472346/24 "2008-11-14T16:22:11Z")

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McCain made a post-election appearance on the _Tonight Show_, where he told Jay Leno about going out for coffee the morning after the election and how strange it was not having his Secret Service detail. Looks like it stopped pretty quickly.

I liked his quip when they were talking about him buying coffee that morning. He said, “I sure wasn’t going out to buy a newspaper. I already knew what the headlines were.”

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